Thursday, April 15, 2010

Creating 3D characters ... second time around




Recreating the dancer-assassin inspired me to take yet another go at his partner, Leon. And ... well, I'm in the ballpark. But this is not the same face, and I just can't seem to get any closer. Starting to think that this is the closest I'll be able to get to what Leon used to be. This face is handsome, even noble. But it doesn't have the warmth or the humanity the first face had. There's something I can't get right...

And this is absolutely typical of trying to re-create a human face in 3D. If you're into this kind of thing -- grab a bunch of photos of, say, Brad Pitt, and have a go at sculpting his face in 3D. And believe me, it's no easier trying to recreate a 3D project that's gone missing.

Not that the original files for Leon have actually gone missing! I have them all ... but after the computer reformat, DAZ can't open them, which leaves me trying to duplicate them. And it's not really possible. This version of Leon is closer than I've ever gotten before. Took four hours, and they're not really that much alike. They're the same kind of face. One kinda reminds you of the other. *sigh*

Very soon, I need to take a crack at Jarrat and Stone, and Cronin and Ramos, and Richard Vaurien. And it's going to be a cross between terrifying and heartbreaking, because I know for a fact, I cannot get back to those faces. I'll get close, but you'll always be aware that the parts were "recast with lookalikes."

I haven't given up on Leon yet, but I'm out of time for now. Try again later!

And I'll leave you with something very beautiful:



That one uses the CWRW Pro textures, and a lot of painting with CWRW's Mane and Tail add-ons, to get around he fact that the mane OBJ (the 3D object which forms the mane, and to which material textures are added) buckles up when you push it past a certain point. Cool sky, too!

Jade, 16 April